The Story of the Church Textbook: From Pentecost to Modern Times

By Phillip Campbell

No nation, institution, empire or dynasty has helped shape the world more than the Catholic Church. Armies have marched upon one another. Kings have risen and fallen. Ideological and political movements have taken hold of entire continents. Diseases and plagues have ravished millions.

And through it all, Holy Mother Church has endured, standing as the one source of light in a world so often covered by shadows.

In this thrilling narrative, Phillip Campbell, author of the best-selling Story of Civilization series, takes children on a journey through Church history, beginning at Pentecost when Peter and the other apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and preached in the streets of Jerusalem, all the way through the pontificate of John Paul II and into modern times. Campbell's storybook style brings the narrative to life for young readers, taking them back in time and awakening a love and appreciation for history.

Children will discover:

• The triumphs and struggles of the early Church
• The heroic stories of the martyrs
• An army of saints who witnessed to Christ, including Benedict, Augustine, Francis, Dominic, Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Siena, Thomas More, The Little Flower, Maximilian Kolbe, and more.
• Popes who helped shape Church teaching through encyclicals and councils, including Leo XIII, Pius IX, and John Paul II
• Crusaders who fought for Christendom Marian apparitions like Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima
• How events like the Protestant Reformation, the Avignon Papacy, and the Second Vatican Council affected the Church and the world.

Through it all, young readers will see how the Church remained in the world but not of it, surviving wars, heresies, and the rule of tyrants, and keeping her arms spread ever open to welcome wounded souls into the Body of Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAN Books
• Release date: Jul 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781505113204

Book preview

shores.

CHAPTER 1

Christ and the Apostles

Searching for Hidden Meaning

Everywhere we look, life is full of meaning. Think of something like a birthday cake. On the surface, it looks very simple. It’s a soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated with candles. But, of course, there’s much more to a birthday cake than what it’s made of. A birthday cake calls to mind a person’s life and their achievements and celebrates their presence with us. It conjures up all sorts of emotions.

Our whole world is like this. Familiar places, people, a beautiful sunset, a lovely flower—anything can be meaningful in one way or another. Part of what it means to be human is to find meaning in things. Sometimes the meaning comes from our own experiences with things, like a toy that’s special because you’ve had it for a long time. Other times, something is meaningful because of a hidden value or quality it has, like a simple rock that looks plain on the outside but contains a gold nugget within.

In short, things are often more than what they seem. And to be human is to seek and discover the truth and meaning behind things.

This book is about the history of the Catholic Church, an institution that is definitely more than what it seems. On the outside, the Church looks like any other human organization, with all its buildings and property and people who run things. And like other religions, it has sacred books, candles, vestments, ministers, altars, and all sorts of rituals. But the Catholic Church is not like other human institutions. It is much, much more. Why?

Because it comes from God.

In this way, the Church resembles its founder, Jesus Christ. Imagine standing in the stable of Bethlehem on the first Christmas morning and looking at the child Jesus. What would we see? We’d see a little baby, not much different than any other baby boy. But there is so much more to Jesus than we can see with just our eyes! He is God who became flesh, the fullness of divinity dwelling in bodily form, as the Bible says. In that little baby are all the treasures of grace available to mankind.

The Church is called the Body of Christ. Just as the divine and human natures come together in the person of Christ, so Christ is present in the Church through the Holy Spirit, whom Pope Leo XIII called the soul of the Church. Like Jesus, the Church is both human and divine.

Pentecost

With this background, let’s dive into the actual story of the Church.

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, our Lord commanded his disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, after which they would be empowered to go out and preach the Gospel to the world. The beginning of the Catholic Church goes back to the building in Jerusalem where the disciples faithfully carried out the will of Jesus, waiting in expectant prayer for the promised Holy Spirit.

Let’s pause for a moment to enter that room to see what this historic moment was like:

________

The large upper room was crowded with men and women huddled in prayer. Numbering about one hundred and twenty in all, this room full of people was all that remained of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified a little over a month ago. But that same Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared triumphantly, urging his followers to wait for the coming of the Spirit in Jerusalem.

The people stood, heads lifted and arms held aloft, for such was the ancient posture of prayer. Some recited the psalms, some prayed the prophecies of the Old Testament, others called out to God in their own words from the depths of their heart.

At the center of this gathering were the apostles of Christ, those men chosen to be special witnesses of his resurrection and lead the Christian community. The word apostle means one who is sent; the leaders of the disciples were called the apostles because they had been sent by Christ to preach and to teach. Joining the apostles were also the Blessed Virgin Mary and other women.

It was still morning when suddenly a great wind rushed through the room! The people cried out, not in fear, but in ecstasy, for it felt as if their very hearts had been filled with a kind of holy fire. Any lingering fears or doubts they may have still had melted away as their spirits were strengthened in faith, hope, and love. Joy welled up and overflowed. Many began laughing or weeping. This, however, soon turned to awe as little flares of light appeared over people’s heads.

They look like … little tongues, someone said. Tongues of fire!

It was a marvelous sight as the very air seemed saturated with the glory of God. Praise welled up in the hearts of these men and women, and they began to open their mouths to call forth God’s glory. But to their astonishment, it was not their everyday speech that came forth but strange and unknown words. The apostles cried out their praise to God in languages never taught to them.

The ruckus in the room was so loud that Jews throughout the streets of Jerusalem began to gather about the house. It was the solemn festival of Pentecost, and the city was crowded with devout Jews from all over the world, Jews who all spoke different languages.

Strange, a Parthian traveler said, they are speaking my language. I didn’t think anyone spoke Parthian here.

What do you mean? another asked incredulously.

It’s obvious they’re speaking Coptic.

I hear them speaking Latin, said another.

Those who had gathered around went on arguing over what language was being spoken. Finally, an elderly man, a rabbi, calmed the crowd and said, All those people up there are Galileans. But how is it that each of us hears them in our own language? We are from all over the earth—Parthians, Medes, Greeks, Cretans, Arabs, Judeans, and more—and yet, we all hear them in our own tongue, praising the mighty works of God. What can this mean?

A grizzled old Jew scoffed, Bah! I’ll tell you what it means. It means they’re all drunk!

Upon hearing the discussion and the accusation of drunkenness, Peter came to the window and called out, You people of Jerusalem, listen, for these men are not drunk! It’s only nine o’clock in the morning. Rather, they are speaking that which was foretold by the prophet Joel, who said, ‘In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath. And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Some of the onlookers scoffed at Peter’s words, but his fiery conviction and the passion in his voice had caused many to take pause and be attentive. Some of the pilgrims well versed in the Scriptures nodded at Peter’s citation of Joel.

It does say so in Scripture, they said. The Lord will pour out his Spirit on all flesh.

Don’t pay him any heed, another man said. He is one of the followers of that Jesus of Nazareth.

Yes! cried Peter. I do speak of Jesus, and I will speak of him boldly. Men of Israel, hear me: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst—this Jesus you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

How are we all hearing and understanding this man in our own languages? the people cried.

Many others had come to listen to Peter, to hear the man who was somehow speaking to everyone in their own tongue simultaneously.

A miracle! they began to call out. God is working a great miracle through these people. Speak God’s words to us!

The crowd had swelled to thousands.

You want the word of God? asked Peter. It is this: Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

A murmur swept over the crowd. Many were deeply moved by Peter’s words. Those who lived in Jerusalem wept at the memory of the recent crucifixion of Jesus.

What shall we do? they called to Peter.

Peter cried out, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

________

The miracle of tongues and the preaching of St. Peter brought three thousand souls into the Church that day. The miracle of tongues was a sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

And do you remember the story of the Tower of Babel from the Old Testament, when men, in their pride, sought to build a tower that reached the heavens? As a punishment, God scattered mankind into many tribes, and suddenly, they were each speaking different tongues, or languages. What was done at the Tower of Babel was undone on Pentecost. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God had brought the human family back together; at Pentecost, the grace of God called men of many tribes and tongues together into the unity of the Church, which is the true structure that leads us to heaven.

After the day of Pentecost, the apostles were emboldened in the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel of Jesus fearlessly. Miracles accompanied their preaching, and everywhere the apostles went, great wonders were done. St. Peter and St. John cured a lame man in the temple; St. Philip worked miracles in Samaria; people were even healed by the shadow of St. Peter crossing them.

The Church began to grow. In fact, it grew so fast the apostles needed to ordain more men to help them in their ministry. The New Testament book of Acts tells us that the office of deacon was created to help minister to the needs of the sick and poor. The apostles would also ordain other men known as presbyters—sometimes called elders in the Bible—to help them in their sacramental ministry. These presbyters would become the first priests. With apostles (the first bishops), along with their presbyters and deacons, we see the basic structure of the Catholic Church was already in place

Paul

But the early Church suffered persecution from the hands of the Jews. The same Jewish priests and elders who had rejected Christ took offense at the preaching of the apostles. The Sadducees once threw the apostles into prison, but an angel opened the doors and let them escape.

One of the most ardent persecutors of the Church was a Pharisee named Saul. When a group of Sadducees captured and condemned the deacon St. Stephen to death, Saul looked on with approval as Stephen was stoned to death. He even was given letters from the Sanhedrin (the Jewish high council) of Jerusalem to travel to Damascus and arrest Christians there.

Yet on the way, Jesus appeared to Saul in a blaze of glory and asked him, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Who are you, Lord? replied a terrified Saul.

I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

This truth must have overwhelmed Saul. He had not believed what Christians said about Jesus. But now he was encountering the risen Christ on the road to Damascus!

Saul left the encounter blind, but Jesus commanded him to visit the house of a Christian in Damascus and he would be healed. It happened just as Jesus had said. Saul received his sight back, accepted baptism, and took the Christian name Paul. For the rest of his life, St. Paul would work tirelessly to bring people all over the Roman world to Christ. We will talk a little bit more about St. Paul’s journeys in our next chapter.

While the apostles had initially preached only to the Jews, St. Paul brought the Gospel to the Gentiles. In the Bible, a Gentile refers to a non-Jewish person. The first converts to Christianity were all Jewish, but what happened when a Gentile wanted to join the Church? Did they have to also accept the customs of Judaism? Or were they free from having to observe things like the Sabbath, the Jewish dietary law, and circumcision?

This became such a heated debate in the early Church that the apostles summoned a council in the city of Jerusalem. The Council of Jerusalem met around AD 48 and addressed the question of whether Gentile converts had to keep any Jewish observances. All the apostles spoke their mind, and St. Paul told of his experiences preaching to the Gentiles. The apostles agreed that Christians did not need to observe the Jewish law.

The Martyrdom of the Apostles

It is beyond the scope of this chapter to document all the journeys and deeds of the apostles. They spent the better part of the first century traversing the Roman world preaching, teaching, and working wonders in the name of Christ. By the middle of the first century, there were Christian communities all over the Roman world, from Mesopotamia in the east to Spain and Britain in the remote west.

Since Christ had made St. Peter the chief of the apostles, the churches founded by Peter would always hold a special aura of authority. St. Peter was the first bishop of Antioch, in Syria, and it was here, the Bible tells us, that followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Antioch would be one of the most important Christian Churches in the coming centuries.

However, it is not Antioch, but Rome, that is forever connected with the name of St. Peter. He founded the Church in the city of Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. He would labor there as its bishop, building up a community renowned for its great faith. Your faith is proclaimed through all the world! St. Paul wrote to the Christians of Rome. We will speak more about St. Peter and Rome in the coming chapters.

Though we do not know everything about the apostles’ lives, we do know how some of them died. For example, the book of Acts tells us that St. James the Greater was slain by King Herod Agrippa. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that St. James the Less was killed by the priests of Jerusalem—thrown from the temple and beaten to death.

While we do not know for certain about the rest, tradition tells us that St. Matthew preached in Judea and was martyred there, and St. Andrew preached among the Greeks and Thracians and was eventually crucified in the Greek city of Patras. Meanwhile, Saints Philip and Bartholomew were tortured and executed in the Phrygian city of Hierapolis, while a very strong tradition says that St. Thomas made it all the way to India where he was speared to death. For their part, Saints Simon and Jude spread the Gospel together throughout Persia and Armenia; Simon was killed by being sawn in half while St. Jude was killed with an ax. The Gospel writer St. Mark was killed by being dragged behind a chariot in the city of Alexandria, Egypt.

Finally, St. Peter and St. Paul both suffered martyrdom in Rome during the time of Emperor Nero, around AD 68. Not long before, the city of Rome had suffered from a terrible fire. Much of the city was destroyed and thousands perished. Many Romans murmured that the deranged Emperor Nero had himself started the fire in order to make room to expand his palace.

We do not know if these rumors were true. But it is certain that Nero wanted to find someone else to blame the fire on. He declared the Christians of Rome guilty of the fire and had them rounded up and put to death in hideous ways. Some were torn apart by wild beasts; others were burned alive or crucified. St. Peter was still bishop of Rome at this time and was apprehended and sentenced to be crucified. St. Peter told his Roman captors, I am not worthy to suffer in the same manner as my Lord. They thus crucified him upside down instead, and so perished the first bishop of Rome and prince of the apostles.

St. Paul was also in Rome at the time on one of his missionary journeys. Because he was a Roman citizen, St. Paul was granted the relatively painless death of beheading.

Tradition tells us an interesting story about the death of St. John. Allegedly, John was sentenced to be boiled in oil by the Roman emperor—some say Emperor Nero, others say Domitian. But the stories agree that, to the astonishment of the Romans, St. John miraculously survived the ordeal unharmed and was sent into exile on the island of Patmos. There, he experienced the visions that make up the New Testament book of Revelation. St. John would become the bishop of Ephesus in Asia Minor and die of old age around the year AD 100. He was the only apostle to die naturally.

Though some apostles died earlier and some, like St. John, died later, by around AD 100 all of the original Christian generation was passing away. The people who had seen and walked with Christ were no more. They were followed by others who would continue to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

But we have not yet left the apostles behind. In the next chapter, we will look at what has been called the Apostolic Age.

CHAPTER 2

The Apostolic Age

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition

How do we know about the lives of the apostles? For that matter, how do we even know about the life and teachings of Jesus?

The history, teachings, and traditions of the very early Church come down to us through several ways. Primarily, we read about them in the New Testament of the Bible. As part of the Bible, the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are considered Sacred Scripture. This means they were inspired by God. The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write those things—and only those things—which God wanted written down. He did this so that we might know the truth about his Son and come to find salvation in him.

The life of Christ was written by men known as the four Evangelists. Evangelist comes from the Greek word evangel, meaning good news; thus, an evangelist is one who brings the Good News of Jesus to others. The four Evangelists are Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Their writings are the four Gospels, which are our records for the life and sayings of Jesus Christ; in short, they are the heart of the New Testament.

The Gospels are considered eyewitness accounts of Christ’s life. St. Matthew and St. John were apostles of Jesus, St. Luke was the secretary of St. Paul, and St. Mark was the secretary of St. Peter. Besides the Gospels, St. Luke wrote an account of the history of the early Church and the travels of St. Paul. This is the book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles.

Much of the New Testament was written by St. Paul. His writings take the form of letters written to various local churches (such as the Romans or Philippians) or to individual people (such as Timothy or Titus). The New Testament also contains letters from St. Peter, St. John, St. James, and St. Jude. The New Testament concludes with a book of vivid prophecy and symbolism known as the Revelation (or sometimes the Apocalypse) to St. John.

Most of the New Testament was compiled before AD 70, save for the writings of St. John, which came later. By AD 100, the New Testament was complete. But it was not compiled in a single book like we have it today. Rather, individual copies of particular books of the New Testament were copied and circulated. Many churches did not possess the entire New Testament. For example, the church in Carthage might have the letters of St. Paul but not the Letter of St. James; the church in Milan might possess the letters of John but not his Apocalypse. It took time for all of the books to reach all of the churches—and for all of the churches to accept all of the books. We will talk about that process more in coming chapters.

But this raises an important question: if not every local church had a complete New Testament, how did early Christians know what to believe?

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul told the Christians of Thessalonica, Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter (2 Thes 2:15). From this, we see that the early Church also held to that which was passed on by word of mouth; that is, the preaching of the apostles and their successors, the bishops. Those teachings that were passed on by the preaching and example of the apostles and their successors we call Sacred Tradition. How the early Christians lived, believed, and worshiped was guided by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

Successors of the Apostles

By the middle of the first century, there were Christian communities all over the Roman world. How did these Christian communities form so far away from Jerusalem? Let’s find out!

In our last chapter, we introduced St. Paul. He had been called by Jesus specifically to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. For most of his life, St. Paul traveled about the Mediterranean founding Christian churches.

Typically, St. Paul would come to a city and find the local synagogue. A synagogue is the place where Jews read from the Scriptures and worshiped God. St. Paul would talk to the Jews and try to convince them that Christ was the Messiah prophesied in Jewish Scripture. If he was rejected by the elders of the synagogue, he would preach in the streets to the Gentiles. Sometimes, by the power of God, he would perform great miracles: he cast out demons, healed the sick, and even raised a dead boy to life who had fallen from a window.

Everywhere Paul went, he founded churches. He traveled through Syria and the cities of Asia Minor. He went to Greece and visited many of the Greek islands. He visited Malta, Sicily, and Italy, spending some time in Rome. Some traditions say he even made it as far as Spain. By the time St. Paul was beheaded by Nero in AD 68, there were Christian churches in most of the major cities around the Mediterranean. These churches would continue to thrive and grow after the deaths of St. Paul and the rest of the apostles.

However, the apostles had ensured that the churches would continue being taught, governed, and sanctified by worthy leaders. St. Paul told his disciple Timothy, What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tm 2:2). The apostles laid hands on other men, commissioning these men with the same directive Christ had given to them. These men who would govern the churches after the deaths of the apostles were known as bishops. Bishop comes from the Greek word episkopos, which means overseer. The bishops were to oversee the local churches with the power and mandate received from the apostles, who received their power from Christ, who was sent by God the Father.

For this reason, even to this day, bishops are known as successors of the apostles. The passing on of the powers of the apostles to each successive generation of bishops is known as apostolic succession. This means that the authority of the apostles continues in the Church through the line of bishops. Through apostolic succession, Christ continues his ministry to the Church and the world throughout all time.

Famous Bishops

The end of the first century and the beginning of the second are often known as the Apostolic Age because the bishops who governed the Church during this time had been disciples of the apostles themselves.

For example, St. Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch. The church there was very important and very old; St. Peter himself had once been bishop there. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Around the year 108, he was arrested and sent to Rome to be devoured by wild beasts.

While on the way to Rome, he wrote six letters to various churches. These beautiful letters encouraged Christians to stand strong in the face of hardship. In his Letter to the Romans, St. Ignatius reminds Christians that service to God is more important than any earthly gain. All the pleasures of the world, he wrote, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth.

In another one of his letters to the church at Smyrna, St. Ignatius encourages Christians to stay close to their bishop: Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. Did you notice how he called the Church Catholic? This is actually the first time in history we know of anybody using the word catholic to describe the Church. Catholic means universal. The Church is universal because Christ calls all men to it, but also because all the local churches share the same universal faith and sacraments. From the time of St. Ignatius on, the Church founded by Jesus would be known as the Catholic Church.

One of St. Ignatius’s most well-known sayings comes from his Letter to the Romans. Facing certain death at the mouths of the wild beasts, Ignatius wrote that he thought of himself as the bread of God: I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. St. Ignatius was indeed ground between the teeth of the beasts, suffering death for Christ in the arena at Rome around the year 108.

Speaking of Rome, another of the great bishops of the Apostolic Age was St. Clement—or rather Pope St. Clement I, as history remembers him. Clement had been a disciple of St. Paul, who mentions him in one of his letters, calling him a fellow worker whose name is written in the book of life (Phil 4:3). At some point, St. Clement made his way to Rome and was ordained by St. Peter himself and eventually became the second pope after St. Peter, reigning from around AD 88 to 99.

As pope, Clement worked hard to strengthen the Church during difficult times. He also used his authority as successor of St. Peter to maintain order and justice in the Church. When the Christians of Corinth, in Greece, expelled their bishop